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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26624551">Ouroboros</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetaCobra/pseuds/BetaCobra'>BetaCobra</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Cobra Kai (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>5+1 Things, Aftermath of Violence, Bromance to Romance, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Manipulation, Feelings Realization, Injury Recovery, Insecurity, Kreese being Kreese, M/M, Post-Season/Series 02, Self-Esteem Issues, Sexist Language, Toxic Masculinity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:47:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,250</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26624551</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetaCobra/pseuds/BetaCobra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Hawk asked Miguel to come back to Cobra Kai.</p><p>And one time Miguel asked him instead.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>John Kreese &amp; Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz, Miguel Diaz &amp; Johnny Lawrence, Miguel Diaz/Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>144</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Cracked</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">He’d been cooped up so long that his room started to feel claustrophobic. He finally understood what people meant when they talked about going crazy from cabin fever. He had seen so much of his surrounding walls that he would’ve kicked them down if he’d been able to. So Miguel welcomed any and all visitors his mother allowed him see, and his face lit up when Hawk stepped through his door that evening.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Hey,” greeted Miguel, sitting up and propping a couple pillows against his lower back.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Sup.” Hawk grabbed the chair from in front of his desk and sat down in it beside the bed. From the looks of it, he must have recently given himself a fresh dye-job. The red of his mohawk was more vibrant than Miguel could ever remember it being. Or maybe the jet-black roots and sides just seemed darker by contrast.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Laying on a bigger smile, Miguel clasped his hands together pleadingly. “Dude, you gotta get me out of here,” he joked. “I think I’m about to lose it if I don’t get some fresh air and new scenery soon. It’s been like a prison in this apartment.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">That made Hawk laugh, which lifted Miguel’s spirits. Things had been so heavy and dour for him lately, it felt like his life had been turned upside down ever since he’d woken up at the hospital. Being around a familiar face, having fun with someone? He’d missed that terribly.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Your grandma would probably kill me if I busted you out,” retorted Hawk.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel chuckled in return. “If she didn’t kill me first.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk raised his eyebrows. “I mean, I could try though,” he said. “I could sneak you out through your window and hide you in the back of my car. Then you could lay low at my house for a while, y’know, until the cops stop looking. Just don’t let my parents see you. I’ve been in enough trouble with them lately.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Don’t you always have ‘trouble’ written all over you?” joshed Miguel, choosing to gloss over the story behind Hawk’s words. He could only imagine how the Moskowitzes must have reacted to his participation in the school fight. Must’ve been ugly.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Yeah, and don’t forget it,” Hawk remarked with a smirk, crossing his arms and slouching back in the chair. Then in his straight-forward bluntness, he asked, “So, are you back on your feet yet or not? You can’t sit on your ass and be lazy forever, man.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel snorted and stared down at his legs. He flexed his toes, one of the first exercises the doctors had him do on his road to recovery. Each day he’d felt the strength in his legs returning, the muscles rebuilding their firmness in his calves until he was finally able to walk again.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">And as soon as he could walk around the apartment, he’d started trying to kick. And punch. And all the other things he knew his mother didn’t want him doing anytime soon.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Usually everyone around him treated him with kid gloves those days, worried that he was made of porcelain or something, that he’d break again at the slightest bit of pressure. The nurses did. His mother did. Sam did when she came to visit. The only person who hadn’t babied him was his Ya-Ya. So it was nice being around someone who gave him the benefit of the doubt that maybe things could go back to normal. That he really was strong enough to recover from this.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">It made him wonder how Sensei Lawrence would treat him. Sensei would also have faith that he’d be back in fighting shape in enough time. He’d be there coaching him through it. Miguel was sure of it. Sometimes it was the only thing that powered him through his physical therapy, hearing the words of his Sensei in his head, telling him he could do it.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">And Miguel tried not to think of the times his legs collapsed out from under him when he remembered Sensei Lawrence had so far not been around….</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Pushing that to the back of his mind, he instead told Hawk, “Hey, enjoy being on top while it lasts, ‘cause I’m gonna be back in the game before you know it.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk sat up straight, and his smile curled further up the side of his face. “So that means you’re coming back to Cobra Kai?” There was unbridled excitement in his voice.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But Miguel couldn’t match his enthusiasm. Now it felt like he had a baseball lodged in his throat, thinking about what it would mean to go back to Cobra Kai since the business had changed hands. Things didn’t feel right. He couldn’t imagine Cobra Kai without Sensei Lawrence teaching.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">They’d built that dojo practically from the ground up, the two of them. How could Sensei have washed his hands of it and walked away, abandoning it? Abandoning him?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel swallowed the lump in his throat, where it then sat heavy in the pit of his stomach.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“What about Tory?” he asked, like that would provide all the excuse he needed to stay away. Miguel’s gut hurt at saying her name, feeling that guilt yank harder as he remembered the whole reason any of this happened was because he’d hurt Tory. If he hadn’t kissed Sam that night at Moon’s party, everything could’ve been avoided.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He watched Hawk’s face get unreadable, saw him look aside for a second before he gave a dismissive shrug of his shoulders. “Who even knows what’s going on with her anymore?” he muttered. “She shows up to class but doesn’t really talk to any of us. I don’t know what her deal is.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel sighed. He didn’t know what else to expect. He had no clue where things between he and Tory currently stood. She hadn’t yet come to visit. And she didn’t reply to the one text he’d sent her after he left the hospital. Part of Miguel wanted to keep trying, but it felt like the situation with Sam over the summer all over again; all communication had been closed off. Between the three of them, things were hopelessly fucked up.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Almost like he could read his thoughts, Hawk shook his head. “Chicks, amirite?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Sighing again, Miguel rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he mumbled, reaching around to rub the sore muscles in the back of his neck. Still, maybe time away from his girl troubles would do all of them some good. Maybe <em>he</em> was the problem. Maybe he should just concentrate on the guys for a while.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“How about the others?” he inquired. The ones who stayed. He’d heard Aisha was gone. So was Bert. A few more, as well. And Miguel knew, deep down, for that reason alone, that even if he did go back, even if he could deal with every other change, things simply couldn’t go back to normal. He couldn’t even say the situation was similar to losing Chris, Nathaniel, and the other guys to Miyagi-Do.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Cobra Kai was cracked in two, wasn’t it?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">If Hawk had ever given that revelation any thought, he made no show of it. “Same old dickweeds as ever,” he said, smiling again, although this one looked more strained to Miguel’s eyes. “But for real, they can’t wait to see you back in action. They’re probably pretty tired of me kicking their asses alone.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“You haven’t been too hard on them, have you?” Hawk sometimes had a difficult time reigning himself in, of knowing when not to cross a line. He could be a real dickweed himself when he wanted to be.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel watched Hawk’s smile ebb at the corners of his mouth. “Sensei Kreese told me to keep them in line. Y’know, to toughen them up. We’re at war, man. We can’t lose anymore.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Arching a skeptical eyebrow, Miguel prodded, “What do you mean?” What war? Wasn’t Robby serving out a sentence in juvie? Hadn’t Sam told him her father had officially closed Miyagi-Do when she came to visit? Who was there left to fight?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk opened and closed his mouth twice, like he didn’t know how to properly explain himself. So he shrugged in lieu of finding the right words. “Sensei Kreese can explain it better.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel didn’t like that answer, but chose to let it go for the time being. “Have you…Have you heard <em>anything</em> from Sensei Lawrence?” he asked, sounding shamefully like a plea.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s brows knitted to the bridge of his nose. “No.” Miguel looked down, and tried not to show hurt in his features. But Hawk must have seen something on his face, because he remarked, “Doesn’t he still live across from you guys? Hasn’t he visited?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel hesitated to answer, but then shook his head. No. Not one visit. And being confronted with that fact forced the answer to the question of why Sensei Lawrence had abandoned him to the forefront of his mind: because his mother had forced him to; because she blamed him for what happened.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Surely Sensei Lawrence would be here if he could. But he couldn’t.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Looking up, Miguel caught the way Hawk’s mouth opened to say something. He cut him off. “Do you really like how Sensei Kreese runs class?” asked Miguel, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. Seeing Hawk’s face pinch harder, he added, “I get that he was Sensei’s Sensei and all, but, I mean, I can’t imagine things can be all that fun if he’s in charge.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">At least Sensei Lawrence sometimes let them kid around. At least he knew when not to be such a hardass, even if he needed the occasional reminder. But Sensei Kreese?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Sensei Kreese puts us through the wringer, but it’s only because he knows we can take it,” Hawk tried explaining. “Well, maybe the others always can’t, but I can. And once you get back in shape, I know you can, too. It’s really not that different from the way things used to be there, like before the Tournament, with training in the junkyard and everything. And you remember when when Sensei Kreese trained us for Coyote Creek.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel swallowed again. “But Sensei Lawrence didn’t like what happened there.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Who cares?!” Miguel frowned at how that came out. Hawk pressed his mouth in a thin line, and he glanced down to where his hands gripped his knees, like he’d been caught being dishonest. Both of them realized the dangerous territory they were in, and neither were looking for a fight.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The muscles in Miguel’s shoulders all tensed at once so sharply that it sent an ache straight to his spine, making him wince. He had to take a deep breath and release it slowly, reminding himself to relax.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“You okay?” asked Hawk, uncurling his fists from his knees and leaning forward, ready to help.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel nodded and readjusted the pillow behind his back. “Yeah.” It hurt bad for another moment before he felt some relief. He was probably overdue for his pain medication. Getting riled up over things at Cobra Kai probably weren’t helping him any. His mother would be mad if she knew he was stressing himself out, especially over karate. Over Sensei.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">A small smirk found itself back on Hawk’s face. He reached out and bumped Miguel across the shoulder with his fist. “Oh, I get it, you’re trying to get me to lower my guard so I get off your case about you getting your ass in gear and back over to Cobra Kai. Well, it’s not gonna work. I guess I can cut you a little more slack, though. I mean, if you really <em>need</em> it.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“How merciful of you,” Miguel joked dryly, glad the tension between them from before had dropped.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He caught the mistake in his wording, however, when he saw Hawk’s smile twitch. He hadn’t meant it to come out that way. Just a bit of gallows humor, was all. He’d earned that after what he’d been through, right? But even then, was he wrong? Where was mercy to be found in Sensei Kreese’s Cobra Kai? Wasn’t that the biggest reason Sensei Lawrence kicked him out?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel shook his head, trying to put those reservations behind him. Hawk had come to visit him, he could at least not throw shade and start an argument. After all, it certainly wasn’t Hawk’s fault his spine had been broken. It wasn’t Hawk’s fault he’d shown mercy to Robby Keene, and gotten kicked off the stairs for his trouble.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He got pulled from those awful thoughts when Hawk stood up from his chair. “Just give it some thought. Come to practice when you can and see for yourself, things are going great,” Hawk stressed. Miguel watched the hard crease between his brows soften, like a thin crack in a mask. “But it hasn’t been the same without you around.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk extended his hand for a real fist-bump this time, and Miguel accepted it. And when Hawk prepared to pull it back after they completed their secret handshake, Miguel grasped his hand with both of his own, gripping to it almost like a lifeline.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel’s lips parted a little, and his chest rose and fell with his quickening breaths. An idea flashed through his mind. He thought about it. He wanted to act on it. All of the previous hurt and isolation and loneliness he’d endured over the past couple of months beckoned him to take a risk.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s eyes lingered on him for a few seconds before dropping down to their clasped hands. He then licked his bottom lip and glanced at Miguel again. Like he expected him to do something. Miguel could have sworn he saw a feeling similar to his own reflected in his friend’s face. The same feeling of loneliness.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But Miguel realized he waited too long to make his move, because Hawk just squeezed his hand again before pulling his own out. “Sorry, I gotta head home. Some of us don’t get to completely skip on homework.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel wondered if that was true, or if he was bailing out now that things had gotten weird. “Uh, sure,” he muttered, shaking himself back to the present. He was surprised, however, to have a bit of trouble catching his breath. And it wasn’t from his injuries this time, he was sure. Recovering, he grinned and retorted, “Hey, if you wanna switch places, I’m down for that. But just so you know, I’ve got, like, a mountain of schoolwork I have to catch up on.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Heh,” Hawk chuckled under his breath, returning the chair to Miguel’s desk. “Actually, maybe just one chapter of Chemistry’s not that bad after all.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Shrugging, Miguel threw his hands up. “Alright, if you say so, but the offer still stands whenever you want it. By the way, that includes having to deal with the nurse from hell at physical therapy.” The day he took his final session with Nurse Ratched would be the day worth celebrating.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Fuck that noise,” laughed Hawk. The joy left his eyes though as they swept down Miguel’s legs, as if seeing really for the first time that evening that he still had quite the road to recovery ahead of him. However, rather than making some pitying remark, which Miguel couldn’t have stood to hear from him, he jutted out his chin and called out, “Alright, later. I’ll text you tonight.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Split</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Hawk slung the strap of his backpack over his shoulder, rolling the knuckles of his right hand with a wince before he stepped outside the dojo. Thoughts from his lesson that day weighed heavily on his mind.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">All the things Sensei had been telling him. About the origins of Cobra Kai. About fighting a war where the odds were stacked so heavily against your side. About what it meant to survive in a world full of enemies always out to get you. It was so real. Sensei really understood everything he’d been going through the previous couple of months. And he knew how to help him come out of it stronger than ever.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">A figure standing outside Nestor’s convenience store pulled him back to reality. The clouds dissipated from Hawk’s head, and a big smile lit up his face seeing who it was standing there chugging a bottle of Powerade. “Oh shit, you’re actually here!” he exclaimed, rushing up to meet him.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Hey,” Miguel greeted him back with a fist-bump. He had furrowed brows as he glanced down at Hawk’s bandaged hand, and a troubled look came over his face.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But Hawk was too excited to notice. “Did you bike out here?” he asked.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel shook his head. “I ran,” he answered. Then, with a roll of his eyes, amended, “Well, I guess sprinted. Okay, it was more of a light jog. Gotta build the muscles back up gradually, y’know?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk chuckled, and his smile didn’t waver. It was great seeing Miguel up and active. And he was beyond ecstatic to see him standing there outside Cobra Kai. One step closer to things getting back to some semblance of normal. It had been so long. “Well, you missed class. Sensei changed the lessons on Thursday to four-thirty.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Sensei Kreese, you mean.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The corners of Hawk’s mouth twitched. That sounded like a loaded observation. But he shrugged, trying not to read too deep into it. “Duh. There’s only <em>one</em> Sensei around here these days.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk could see the way Miguel’s expression tightened at that. Even he was a little surprised by how barbed that comment had come out. So he tacked on, “I mean, you heard about Miyagi-Do, right? Their pussy Sensei’s been too busy saving face and acting like he had nothing to do with what Keene did to run a dojo. Can you believe that shit?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel probably knew he hadn’t originally been talking about Mr. LaRusso, but he accepted the opportunity to change course. He took a swig from his Powerade and replied, “Yeah, I heard about Miyagi-Do closing. Sam told me.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Elbowing him, Hawk wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and remarked, “Damn, man, already trying to get back with her? That’s ballin’.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Rolling his eyes again, Miguel let out an exasperated sigh. He sounded irritated. “No, Jesus Christ, it wasn’t like that.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“If you say so.” It pleased Hawk to hear that, although he did his best not to show it. He didn’t really care about Miguel’s girl troubles. If he was done with both Sam and Tory for a while, he was probably better off for it. Plus it meant Hawk didn’t have to bring up his own string of bad luck with girls lately.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">News of Demetri’s roast had spread to about every corner of the school. Bad enough to lose a school fight, and to Demetri of all people. Worse still to be an outed bedwetter on top of it. Who would want to be with him, knowing that? Miguel might very well have been the only soul left in West Valley High School who didn’t know.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Switching the topic back to karate, Hawk went on. “But, anyway, Sensei Kreese doesn’t think Mr. LaRusso is actually gone for good. He thinks he’s just laying low for a while, that he’s planning something big. He’s probably coming up with some scheme to shut us down.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel swallowed more of his drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Why would he do that?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk scoffed in disbelief. “Bruh. Have you forgotten all the sneaky shit he pulled? Remember the free lessons? Or how about the time he busted into the dojo and insulted Cobra Kai in front of everyone?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Well, to be fair, that was after you vandalized his dojo,” Miguel pointed out.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Knitting his brows to the bridge of his nose, Hawk felt tension building up in his shoulders. This wasn’t going the way he’d hoped it would. He’d hoped seeing Miguel here at the strip mall meant his friend was finally coming back. But now here he was, standing there and arguing with him. “Why are you defending Miyagi-Do?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I’m not <em>defending</em> them,” retorted Miguel, frustration clear in his tone. It sounded like he had something more on his mind, and wasn’t coming out with it. “I just meant that Mr. LaRusso’s beef was with Sensei, right? So what does he care about Sensei Kreese running things?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“No, it was with Cobra Kai,” Hawk corrected, a hard edge to his voice, pointing with his forefinger to emphasize his words. “It’s <em>always</em> been about Mr. LaRusso’s war with Cobra Kai. Beating us wasn’t enough. He won’t stop until the dojo’s shut down for good.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel had that particular look on his face. The one he did during their confrontation over the medal of honor. And Hawk willed himself to calm down some. He had to remind himself that Miguel hadn’t been in Cobra Kai since the fight. He hadn’t heard Sensei Kreese’s lessons. He didn’t understand that they were at war. This was just the lull between battles.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“How’d you bust your hands?” asked Miguel, seemingly apropos of nothing, gesturing to Hawk’s bandaged knuckles. The frustration in his voice dulled into one hinting concern.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Wiggling his fingers to loosen the soreness in them, Hawk forced a smirk up the side of his face. “Sensei had me practice on a wooden block today.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel’s eyes widened. “What’s that meant to do?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Gets you toughened up, so you can pound your enemy’s face in without worrying about breaking the bones in your hands,” explained Hawk. Jutting out his chin, he added, “I’m the only one who’s worked his way up to it. Sensei Kreese said that’s how they did things back when he was in bootcamp.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Looking at Hawk’s hands again, Miguel raised an eyebrow. “And how’d that go?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel didn’t need to hear the gritty details. How he’d been told to keep hitting the block over and over again. How Sensei helped push him past the initial pain, to find his Cobra strength within. “It takes some getting used to,” Hawk said. “But in the end, wasn’t a problem. Just split the skin open a little is all.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">From the expression on his face, Miguel didn’t believe him. “Sounds pretty intense.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“What, like this is the first time we had to break out the first-aid station in class?” Hawk deflected with a roll of his shoulders. “Remember that day when Aisha unflinched everyone? Man, that was a lot blood, wasn’t it?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Hawk—”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“And last week, you should’ve seen it, my left hook went smack into Mikey’s nose.” He slapped his palms together hard to imitate what it had sounded like. “Pow! That guy’s a total gusher, let me tell you.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">A sigh parted Miguel’s lips. “It sounds like Sensei Lawrence was right.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">That got Hawk to stop. His stomach dropped. “Sensei Lawrence?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel squared his shoulders back, rolling the Powerade bottle between his hands. “He and I talked the other day.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Still blindsided by the news that Sensei Lawrence was now back in the picture, that he’d spoken to Miguel, Hawk could only ask, “About what?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">There was that look again, like there was way more to this than Miguel was letting on. But then, it was always like that between him and Sensei Lawrence. “Y’know, things. Where he’s been. All the crazy stuff that’s been happening.” He shook his head and a sad smile crossed his lips. “Did you know he actually visited me in the hospital? Before I woke up? Mom actually let him in. It was after…after Robby got arrested. She let him in, and she never told me.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk didn’t know how to respond to that. He was surprised Miss Diaz allowed it to happen. His own parents wouldn’t have, if the situations were reversed. “Well, where’s he been since then?” he inquired, not in a mood to be lenient to Sensei Lawrence.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel’s sad smile straightened. “He’s been having a really rough time. Like, he wouldn’t tell me too much, but I know he’s been struggling. The fight, Robby being sent to juvie, it all hit him pretty hard.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">By his sides, Hawk’s fists clenched on reflex. Did Miguel want him to feel bad for Sensei Lawrence? Because from the sounds of it, all Sensei Lawrence had done was show up to spill his sob story to Miguel. The one who’d paid the biggest penalty for his bad teaching.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel must have seen the way Hawk’s eyes narrowed, because his next statement was firm. “He also said Sensei Kreese stole the dojo from him.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">There it was.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Sensei Kreese founded Cobra Kai,” Hawk defensively retorted. “You can’t steal what you created in the first place.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“But his Cobra Kai was outdated,” argued Miguel, repeating Sensei Lawrence’s words back to him. “It had to change. That’s the whole reason Sensei threw him out.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Yeah, and look what happened after that!” Hawk sharply countered. “We got our asses kicked! He made us all into a bunch of losers!”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel looked struck, like Hawk had punched him in the gut with those words. That expression stilled Hawk’s tongue from letting even more of his feelings out. He had a lot he would’ve liked to say, but he had no desire to hurt Miguel, no matter how much he was irritating him by defending Sensei Lawrence.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“It’s still not…I mean, that’s not what…..” Miguel trailed off and ran his hands through his dark hair, dragging them down to rub at his face. At that moment, he looked so tired, so confused, like he was completely lost and without guidance. And Hawk’s previous frustration melted away, recognizing himself in him. He remembered again how long Miguel had been away from all this.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He hated seeing his friend so low. Bad enough to have had what happened at the school and end up in a coma at the hospital, where nobody even knew if he was going to survive. Then to spend weeks and weeks recovering, his whole world changing around him and being helpless to do anything about it. It must have made Miguel feel weak. And Hawk knew Miguel wasn’t weak. He just needed help.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk reached a hand out, wrapping it around one of Miguel’s. His friend’s skin was warm against his cool fingers. “Just come inside,” he said, gesturing behind him to the dojo. “Sensei’s still in there, he’ll explain everything.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">If Miguel needed guidance, Sensei Kreese could provide it. He’d been there for Hawk ever since the school fight, when nobody else was. If it hadn’t been for Sensei Kreese, Hawk didn’t know if he could have pulled himself through the aftermath, through all that humiliation and misery.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">If Sensei Kreese could give him strength during the worst time of his life, he could definitely do the same for Miguel.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel took one look at the door, then tugged his hand away. “Not right now,” he said. “I should probably head back home.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s insides felt like they’d dropped again. But he was willing to put the matter aside for now. He still didn’t want to fight about it. “Alright, yeah.” Thumbing over his shoulder towards his car, he asked, “You want a ride?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Shaking his head, Miguel softened the decline with a grin. “Thanks, but I really gotta build up my endurance. If I keep up at this pace, the doctors say I might even be able to cut down on the physical therapy visits by the end of the month.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk grinned back. “Cool.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll see you around soon,” he promised before walking down the sidewalk. As he strolled across the parking lot, he looked behind him and called out, “And dude, be sure to put some ice on those hands!”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“For sure, man!”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">When Miguel turned the corner and was out of sight, Hawk reached inside his pocket for his car keys. But he didn’t remove them. He instead wrapped his fingers around the plastic clicker and metal key, squeezing them hard against his sweaty palm.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Just a short while ago, he was ready to go home and relax after his hard day at practice. But now….</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The sudden rattle of bells had Hawk turning around to see Sensei Kreese standing at the door. “That was Diaz?” he asked, stepping outside.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Walking over to join him, Hawk nodded. “Yes, Sensei.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The old man raised his eyebrows, noting, “Looks like he’s improved. Back on his feet already.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“He’s been doing a lot better,” Hawk stated. It was only a matter of time before Miguel would be back in karate, ready to rejoin his friends. Hawk had been counting down the days.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But Sensei Lawrence’s return, he hadn’t foreseen that. Which was dumb. He didn’t know why he expected otherwise. How come Sensei Lawrence had to come back and unload his bullshit on Miguel, when everything that happened to Miguel was his fault? Why couldn’t he just go drink himself into a stupor?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk looked up at his Sensei. He couldn’t keep this from the King Cobra. He’d want to know. It wasn’t snitching. It was looking out for Cobra Kai. “Miguel told me he talked to Sensei Lawrence.” If the piece of news surprised Sensei Kreese, his face made no show of it. So Hawk continued, “He told Miguel that you stole the dojo.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Did he?” Sensei Kreese inquired.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“But I told Miguel the truth,” Hawk hastily emphasized.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Crossing his arms, Sensei Kreese said, “I suspected Sensei Lawrence would reach out to Diaz at some point. No doubt, of course, to see how Diaz was doing, if only to ease his sense of guilt for what he did.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s mouth creased in anger. Under his breath, he admitted, “I wish he would just leave Miguel alone.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Sensei Kreese tilted his head the slightest, his thick brows furrowing. “Sensei Lawrence is undoubtedly still upset with how events have turned out. To see Cobra Kai flourishing in his absence, to hear about you kids getting stronger without him, it must be difficult for him to swallow. Could you imagine getting as far as you have lately under his guidance?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“No, Sensei,” Hawk answered, shaking his head.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Sensei Kreese nodded once more. “So rather than admit he made a mistake in weakening Cobra Kai, Sensei Lawrence is reaching out to the only one of you who hasn’t seen for himself how things here have improved.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Of course. Sensei Lawrence knew he couldn’t show his face in the dojo again, to try his bullshit on any of them, who knew better. So he’d send Miguel. Was he using Miguel as some pawn to try and undermine Sensei Kreese?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The expression on Hawk’s face twisted in a mixture of fury and distress. “Do you think Sensei Lawrence is gonna use Miguel to try and steal Cobra Kai back?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">A small smirk curled up around the corner of Sensei Kreese’s hard mouth. “As long as I’m here, you got nothing to worry about, kid.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">That reassurance sent a wave of relief through Hawk, and he gave a half-bow. “Yes, Sensei.” He could at least go home now feeling more secure that things at Cobra Kai would continue to stay on track. He didn’t know why he should have doubted that, but the thought of things going back to the way they were under Sensei Lawrence before the school fight, it sent an icy chill up his spine.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">When he took a couple steps toward the parking lot, Sensei Kreese reached out and grabbed his upper arm with a rough grip. Hawk almost winced. “But if Sensei Lawrence is taking advantage of Diaz’s situation,” said the King Cobra, “I expect you to continue looking out for him. Let me know if there are anymore problems. Don’t let Sensei Lawrence continue to lead him down the wrong path. Remember, you and Diaz are Cobra Kai. And Cobra Kai never dies.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk nodded again, firmer this time. “Yes, Sensei.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Fractured</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">“Hey, sorry I’m late!”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel jumped out of the recess of his deep thoughts as Hawk joined him where he was sitting on the park bench, under the streetlight that must have turned on a little while ago when he wasn’t paying attention. “Hey,” he responded, scooting over so his friend could perch himself next to him.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Scanning the mostly-empty park, Hawk raised an eyebrow and said, “So, are we just gonna hang out here? ‘Cause, y’know, big, open park at sundown, this kinda looks like a drug deal’s about to go down. And I don’t have any weed on me right now.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Very funny,” remarked Miguel with a breathy laugh.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk stretched his legs out in front of him and extended his arms along the top of the backrest, like he was making himself comfortable. “Got your text earlier. Is the plan really to come back to school at the start of the month?” he asked, enthusiasm thick in the question.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel nodded. “Yeah.” Back to at least <em>some</em> version of normal, right? Some version. And he could only imagine the warped reality that was waiting for him back there at school. No more living in his own world, separated from everyone else. Time to return to the thick of things.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Why did it feel like he was about to walk into a war zone?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk clapped his shoulder warmly, and a big grin spread over his face from ear to ear. “That’s great! Does this mean you’re done with the therapy and hospital visits? You’re back in the game?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Wishing he could feel as excited as Hawk sounded, Miguel answered, “More or less.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk wrapped his whole arm around his shoulder this time. And, to his own surprise, Miguel wanted to melt into the touch. Even through his hoodie, it felt warm against the cool night breeze. “Alright!” Hawk cheered. “So, can we expect to see you back in Cobra Kai by then, too?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel wanted to just go ahead and tell him yes. A big part of him was desperate to try and make things as they were work out for him. But his gut instinct was yelling at him, saying that it was a terrible idea, even if he couldn’t explain why. And Sensei Lawrence had taught him to trust his gut instinct.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Nothing about the situation <em>felt</em> right. It still didn’t even seem real. To Miguel, it was like a nightmare he hadn’t woken up from yet. Sensei Lawrence no longer owning Cobra Kai. Most of the other guys siding with Sensei Kreese in his taking it over. Miguel couldn’t shake the feeling of being stuck in the middle of something much bigger than himself, something he could barely wrap his head around.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Normally that wouldn’t have been so intimidating. But after his talk with Sensei Lawrence earlier that day….</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>“No! Everything you said about quitters before—”</em>
</p><p class="p3"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>“It doesn’t matter what I said before, alright? I was just spewing bullshit. None of it mattered.”</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">None of it mattered….</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">What more could he do if Sensei Lawrence wouldn’t fight for Cobra Kai? Was this the reality now, was he supposed to give up on the Cobra Kai the two of them had built together, the one he’d come to think of as an extension of himself? Was he supposed to quit, too? Because the Cobra sleeping inside him, waiting to be reawakened, recoiled at the thought.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel sighed. Avoiding Hawk’s question, he asked, “Do you ever miss the old days?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He hesitated to mention Sensei Lawrence’s name around Hawk. The previous couple of times he did had done nothing but drive tension between them. But Miguel wondered if maybe Sensei would be more willing to get back involved with Cobra Kai if he knew the others didn’t hate him.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s grin softened with nostalgic fondness. “All the time,” he admitted. Miguel then watched a harder, more determined look stiffen his expression. “I mean, not everything. And some things now are actually a lot better than they ever were. But you’ll see for yourself. I know it’s not exactly the same, but it’s not all that different. You and me, kicking ass at the top of the class, it’ll be just like old times.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk made it sound so easy, so simple. And perhaps it was, for him. But rather than be uplifting, his words hurt Miguel. Had Hawk not enjoyed how things used to be? Were things so bad for him then that he’d welcome such an extreme change from Sensei Kreese? Did he actually hate Sensei Lawrence after all?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Yeah, maybe,” Miguel mumbled, running his hands down his tired face. “Sorry, I got a lot on my plate, y’know? I mean, I’m gonna have a lot of catching up to do, with school and with karate.” It wasn’t an excuse, but it sounded like one to his own ears. Because he wasn’t wrong, he did have a lot of training ahead of him if he hoped to get back to where he was before. But he didn’t want that training to be with Sensei Kreese.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk withdrew his arm so he could turn to face him. Miguel was sorry to lose the comforting contact. It had felt nice.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Sensei Kreese can help you get back on top,” promised Hawk. “He did it for all of us, and you’re way tougher than any of the other guys. He’ll have you back in fighting shape in no time, man.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The thought tempted Miguel again, but he couldn’t get Sensei Lawrence’s warnings about Sensei Kreese out of his head. But he was sure that voicing them now would only lead to a fight. He didn’t want that. So he said, “I don’t think I’m ready for Sensei Kreese’s, uh, radical approach to training.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">That made Hawk’s eyes narrow. “It’s not that radical,” he argued. “He just cuts through the bullshit. It’s back to the old way, the way that had you and me dominating the All-Valley Tournament. With Sensei Kreese in charge, we’re never gonna lose again. And we’re gonna get back at Miyagi-Do for what they did.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel stared at him, his brows pinching together. “How? Their dojo doesn’t even exist anymore.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“You wouldn’t know that from the way things have been going on at school,” retorted Hawk, his scarred upper lip drawing back in an angry scowl. When Miguel kept staring in confusion, he went on. “Ever since the fight, people there keep talking about how Miyagi-Do beat us. They treat those shitheads like they’re badasses, they rub it in our faces. And we can’t do anything about it there, because if we do, we’ll get expelled. But this war isn’t over yet, and they know it.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel thought back to his fight with Kyler in the school cafeteria. He’d gotten in trouble for it, but his peers had eaten it up; it was what put Cobra Kai karate on the map. Had they reacted in a similar fashion to the brawl? Were they showing the guys in Miyagi-Do the same respect they started giving him after he beat up Kyler and his crew? He didn’t know why he might think they would treat the situation differently, if only because of what happened to him. A fight was a fight.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But he couldn’t imagine the others in Miyagi-Do took any kind of pride in their victory. Sam didn’t seem particularly proud when she’d come to visit him. Far from it. “Maybe Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do should just leave each other alone for a while.” He certainly wasn’t interested in a war.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk narrowed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something harsh, but then closed it. After another second, he said instead, “You really have no idea what it’s been like.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">No, he didn’t. “You’re right, I don’t,” Miguel agreed, his voice dropping to a whisper. He’d been completely locked out of his old life. He was caught in the middle of a turbulent storm, and felt like he was being tossed about wildly with no buoy. So many things were out of his control, had been out of it for months, and he couldn’t stand it anymore.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s severe features smoothed over. “Hey, it’s not your fault,” he clarified, giving him a light-hearted elbowing to his side. He shifted where he sat, like he was uncomfortable all of a sudden. For a brief moment, his eyes got sad before he disclosed, “I hate seeing you down in the dumps like this all the time.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel met his eyes, holding them until Hawk tore them away. “Sorry,” he said, his shoulders slumping, rubbing his hands together to get the cold out of them.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Shaking his head again, Hawk clarified, “No, I mean, I get it. I’m just letting you know, you’ll always have a place at Cobra Kai. You’re gonna get past this shit and back to being the champ.” He reached out a hand and clasped Miguel’s knee, like he was trying to convey his feelings in a way he was struggling to verbalize.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Letting a faint smile come over his lips, Miguel pointed out, “You sure you’re not worried about the champ coming back to take his number one spot?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“No way,” laughed Hawk. “It’s been a long time since I got to fight a worthy opponent. And it’s not worth being the best if I didn’t personally kick your ass to earn it.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel’s tight-lipped smile widened. When Hawk talked like this, it made him believe that maybe things weren’t as bad as they seemed.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">It made him think back to that evening in his bedroom. Of that day outside the dojo. Of hands holding each other too long. Of his hand moving now to rest on top of the one Hawk had laid on his knee. Of how Hawk didn’t pull it back.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel found himself leaning forward. Hawk didn’t retreat. And when Miguel parted his lips, Hawk did as well. Both could hear each other’s hastening breaths, they could see the slight rise and fall in the other’s shoulders. And Miguel leaned in a little further still, giving Hawk another chance to say what was about to happen was a bad idea.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Instead, Hawk leaned in, too, tilting his head in invitation. So Miguel closed the remaining space, along with his eyes, and brought their lips together.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He felt Hawk’s hand cradling his jaw, and the last shred of defense Miguel had erected crumbled. All of the previous months’ worth of isolation, loneliness, and depression moved him to seek comfort freely given. It emboldened him to grab a fistful of Hawk’s shirt and tug him closer, wrapping his other hand around the nape of Hawk’s neck, kissing him deeper.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk made a faint noise when Miguel finally broke it, and the two sat there for what felt like an eternity, hands still around the other, breaths visible in the air.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel’s skin was warm from his thundering heartbeat pumping blood through his body a mile a minute. How had he even thought it’d been cold outside a few minutes ago? “What was that?” he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk grinned. “Whatever you want it to be, man. Just live in the moment.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Right then, that sounded like wonderful advice. Live in this exact moment, where things didn’t have to be so overwhelming.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">So Miguel tried. He pulled Hawk in for another kiss, not caring how crazy this was to be locking lips with his friend in the middle of a park in the evening. Because at least he was acting, at least he was doing something. He felt like a Cobra again. Striking first. Making a move. All of that confidence he’d built for himself since joining Cobra Kai was there for his taking.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Then an alarm bell rang in his head. A kiss. That dumb kiss that started the whole thing. The fight. The kick. The railing. A flash of light, and then darkness….</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel broke the kiss with a wince and pushed himself back, scooting over to put some distance between them, taking in a couple of deep breaths.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">After a minute, he looked over at Hawk. Thanks to the street light, he could see the dark redness that now openly covered his face. From gusto or from embarrassment? Either way, he looked concerned now. “What’s wrong? You good?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“We shouldn’t have done that.” The words flew out of Miguel’s mouth just so he didn’t have to say out loud that, no, he wasn’t good.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He watched the flush spread all the way to Hawk’s ears. Then he was fidgeting with his hands. Definitely embarrassed. And Miguel didn’t blame him. “Why not?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “I was digging it. Weren’t you?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Yes. He was. But it was yet another new curve ball life was throwing at him, this time one of his own making. He could barely shoulder everything as it was, much less take this new road. He couldn’t simply live in the moment. And it wouldn’t be fair to Hawk to pretend like he could, either.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Sorry, I…I can’t handle this right now,” confessed Miguel. When Hawk’s face got stoney and unreadable, he tried explaining more. “No, man, it’s not you. It was great, I swear, it’s…it’s just a lot, okay? There’s so much other shit going on….” Too much shit going on to try and register these feelings on top of it.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel looked down at his feet, feeling so weak as he said all that. He had felt nothing but weak, ever since he’d woken up in the hospital. And ever since then, Hawk had treated him like he was nothing but capable. He, more than anyone else it seemed, was ready to see him back in action, thought he was ready.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk rolled his shoulders, like it was no big deal, but the lingering blush put his true sentiments on display. “It’s cool, I get it,” he said, sitting up straight. “Like I said, it’s whatever you want it to be. If you wanna forget it, we’ll forget it.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But Miguel didn’t want that, either. What did he want, exactly? The power to rewind the clock, to make things easier for himself so he could manage this new situation? To go back in time and handle things at school differently?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">What if he hadn’t shown mercy to Robby Keene? What if he’d broken his arm instead? The question ripped at his insides, and Miguel couldn’t help but take that as a sign of guilt for even thinking it. Because he should’ve been better than that. And he was. But how could he not at least wonder? Would things have turned out different? Better? Even worse?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“God, fuck, I hate this!” Miguel admitted, leaning his elbows against his knees and burying his face in his hands, not even knowing all he meant by <em>this</em>, much less if Hawk could understand him.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He hated what happened to him. He hated that he did the right thing and was punished for it. He hated all the time he’d spent in physical therapy. He hated the yelling matches between him and his mother he’d had when he still expressed interest in karate.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He hated what happened to Cobra Kai while he was gone, the bad feeling he got in his gut whenever he thought about Sensei Kreese being in charge. He hated that Hawk was always talking about some war, and he had no idea what he meant by that. He hated that Sensei Lawrence didn’t think what Cobra Kai used to be was worth fighting for. He hated that the others picked Sensei Kreese over Sensei Lawrence in the first place.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He hated that he had no control over things right now. He hated not knowing when he’d get that feeling back. When would he just be able to feel normal?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Normal. Right. What a riot.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">His brain felt fractured. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry. He wanted that confidence from a little while ago back again. He might as well have been flung back into the pool with his hands tied. And this time, he didn’t know if he had the strength to keep himself from drowning.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s voice cut through his misery. “Hate what?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Running his hands through his hair before raising his head up, Miguel didn’t know where to start. So he picked a thought at random.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Like, what’s gonna happen once Robby’s out?” Robby’s time in juvie would be coming to a close before he knew it. Due to their proximities to Sensei Lawrence, sooner or later, they’d have to see one another again.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">What was he supposed to do? Forgive Robby, for Sensei’s sake? Forgive him so Sensei wouldn’t be upset about the swell of anger and hurt that had been churning inside him ever since he’d woken up in the hospital? Don’t hate Robby, so Sensei wouldn’t hate him?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Thinking about it made his head hurt and his eyes sting. He discovered then how hard he’d been blinking, and rubbed at his right eye to keep the wetness in check. But his loud sniff probably gave away his upset feelings anyway.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk stared at him for a quiet minute, his mouth a little agape. Then his brows narrowed in resolve, and Miguel noticed his hands ball into fists on his knees as he stared hard at him and promised, “You won’t have to worry about Keene.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Rupture</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">A winter rainstorm awaited Hawk when he stepped out of the dojo that evening. A heavy downpour, one that would drench him and ruin his hair in a second if he stepped out in it, even for the short trek to his car. What a shitty way to end what should have been a triumphant day for him.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Hawk, let’s talk.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He turned his head and followed the voice. There was Miguel, standing up from where he’d been leaning against the wall outside the Pawn Shop. He didn’t look soaked, and with no sign of an umbrella, Hawk assumed he must have been waiting for him for some time, at least before the rain started. And he hadn’t come inside to tell him he was there.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel was staring at his face as he walked up to him, no doubt gawking at the new shiner adorning his eye and cheekbone. A badge of honor, in Hawk’s opinion. A black-and-blue symbol of his commitment to getting even, no matter how long it took.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“News travels fast, huh?” remarked Hawk, a smirk curling up the side of his mouth. He was planning to FaceTime Miguel about it later that night after he got home, since he finished his talk with Sensei Kreese. But he wasn’t so surprised word had gotten around to him already. He was glad, especially considering the outcome.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He also wondered who told Miguel. Sam? Demetri? Or someone else….</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“So, it’s true?” asked Miguel. “You got into a fight with Robby?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Yeah,” he answered, jutting his chin out. “I settled the score. I wish you could’ve seen it. He didn’t know what hit him. That asshole hasn’t even been out of juvie for two days, and I reminded him that Cobra Kai doesn’t forget.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He expected a big smile to light up Miguel’s face, for him to show excitement that he’d been avenged. Hawk might have had to lie in brumation for a while, like Sensei Kreese had taught him to do, but he’d finally gotten his payback on Robby Keene for what he did. He hoped it might help Miguel finally start feeling better. He could be happy again.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But instead, Miguel looked shocked, with his slack mouth and pinched eyes, like he didn’t know why Hawk would do what he did. “Why would you immediately escalate things like that?” he asked.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel might as well have swept his leg out from under him, Hawk was thrown so suddenly off-balance. “What…What do you mean?” he stammered, the stirrings of uncertainty prickling at his insides.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I’m hearing he tried avoiding the fight,” said Miguel. “Is that true, too?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Yeah, he was spouting some bullshit about not wanting to fight me,” Hawk replied, his skin beginning to heat up, even outside in the cold storm. “He must’ve thought I was a fucking dumbass to fall for that. You know better than anyone, those shitheads at Miyagi-Do wait until you’re vulnerable before they go all-in. They always fight like a bunch of pussies. So I made sure he knew real fast that he wasn’t going to get a chance to take advantage of any mercy from me, because I didn’t plan on showing any.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Keene should have been grateful that all Hawk had left him with was a busted, bloody nose. He should have wrecked him so bad he ended up in the hospital. He deserved the same as he’d done to Miguel. Or at least a broken arm or something. If Hawk hadn’t had to flee at the time, he might have done it. But his message had still come across loud and clear, which was the point.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel let out a frustrated huff. “I thought we agreed that Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do should stay away from each other for a while. And as soon as Robby gets out, you go looking for a fight right off the bat? Don’t you realize this is just going to make things worse?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">How come he was treating him like the bad guy?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Shaking his head in disbelief, Hawk asked, “You’re going to defend Robby?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I’m <em>not</em> defending Robby, don’t even go there,” Miguel emphasized, pointing his finger in Hawk’s face as his voice rose above the sound of the rain pounding against the parking lot asphalt. Irritation and offense were thick in his voice. “I’m asking why you decided to blow things up between the dojos again. Didn’t you learn anything after wrecking Miyagi-Do and taking their medal? How do you think they’re gonna react now, huh?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s mouth twisted in confusion. “I did this for you, man,” he said, as though it should have been obvious.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I didn’t ask you to,” argued Miguel.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He didn’t have to ask him. They were Cobra Kai. When Robby hurt him, he hurt <em>all</em> of Cobra Kai. They were supposed to have each other’s backs.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">And yet, even with that being true, Miguel’s words still stung. Hawk was so sure he had been doing the right thing. It was the only motivation that had driven him for months. Revenge against Miyagi-Do. Revenge against Robby Keene, specifically. And after Miguel’s moping in the park that night, Hawk thought he would have appreciated some closure. He’d been so upset, seemed so unsure what he should do once Robby got out. Hawk had solved that problem for him.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">All he’d wanted to do was get even. And here was Miguel, chewing him out for it.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">It hurt. It hurt a lot.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Down by his sides, Hawk’s hands curled into fists. His anger was beginning to boil. It seemed like nobody approved of his actions, ever. He didn’t understand why. He did what he was instructed to do. He was protecting his dojo. And he got results. He was turning the tide of the war. Why should he feel guilty about that?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">When he didn’t have an immediate reply, Miguel suddenly declared, “Sensei Lawrence wants Cobra Kai back.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk blinked, taking a few more seconds to process what he’d heard. His eyes darted once to the Cobra Kai dojo, as he felt the urgent need to run in and warn Sensei Kreese. But he recovered enough to look at Miguel again and say, “Well, we don’t want him back.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Now it was Miguel’s brown eyes that got as wide as deer’s caught in the headlights. Then they narrowed. “This is <em>his</em> dojo,” he argued.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I told you, Sensei Kreese founded Cobra Kai,” Hawk repeated.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Maybe he founded the original Cobra Kai, but not <em>this</em> Cobra Kai.” Miguel fixed an intense stare on him now. “Sensei Kreese wasn’t the one who laid down the mats or wired the electricity or painted the walls of that dojo. And I sure as hell know he wasn’t the one who cleaned the toilet, because I did that for months.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk retorted, “Maybe not, but Sensei Kreese is the one who signed a contract.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Sure, through a shady, underhanded deal,” said Miguel. “But that seems to be the kind of guy he is.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">That made the corner of Hawk’s mouth twitch, and he spoke with a rough intonation as he told Miguel, “You don’t know anything about Sensei Kreese.” He hadn’t heard all of Sensei Kreese’s incredible stories, about all the crazy shit he’d seen in his lifetime, about all the amazing things he’d accomplished. About the origins of Cobra Kai itself, built by Sensei Kreese’s sheer force of will to survive in a world that had tried to destroy him. Only Hawk knew about that.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Sensei Lawrence told me a lot of things about Sensei Kreese,” rebutted Miguel.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk scoffed in disgust. “Yeah, I bet he did.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“It sounds like he’s always been more a drill sergeant than a Sensei. Mercy, honor, the things Sensei Lawrence tried teaching us, do they mean anything to Sensei Kreese at all? Let me guess, is he the one who told you to get payback against Miyagi-Do?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s face burned hot, and he was sure he was red now.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">It all made sense. Miguel’s arguing, it must have been because of Sensei Lawrence. He’d gotten to Miguel again. He always did. Probably filled his head with that same sometimes-show-mercy bullshit that had made them into complete losers before Sensei Kreese stepped in and put them back on track. The same shit that got Miguel hurt.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“So, the only reason you’re mad about me fighting Robby is because it upset Sensei Lawrence,” Hawk accused, a nasty edge to his tone. “He never liked us winning against his son. In every other case, we should be badasses, but when it came to Robby Keene, we always had to be a couple of pussies. And you always do what Sensei Lawrence wants.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk hadn’t wanted to risk a rupture with Miguel before, but this was getting out of hand. He had to put his foot down. What kind of friend would he be if he stood by, doing nothing, and let Sensei Lawrence take advantage of Miguel’s loyalty and lead him blindly off a cliff again? He couldn’t let it happen twice, not without putting up a fight. If that meant stepping on Miguel’s toes and shoving some harsh truths down his throat, so be it.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel’s frown tightened. This time, it was his fists that were flexing by his sides. “Don’t you understand? This is bigger than Robby. You’ve been talking about this war with Miyagi-Do. That’s not something Sensei Lawrence ever wanted. He’s getting really worried about what Sensei Kreese is teaching you guys. And he thinks if this keeps up, things are going to spiral out of control again.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“How can you listen to Sensei Lawrence?” Hawk demanded with a scowl. Sensei Lawrence had taught them restraint, and it resulted in all of them losing to Miyagi-Do. “His Cobra Kai was weak, he made <em>us</em> weak. Sensei Kreese has taught us about real strength, about winning the war, making sure we strike down our enemies before they ever get a chance to take advantage of us. Nobody is <em>ever</em> going to hurt us again.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel looked at him like he’d sucker-punched him. “Listen to yourself. Don’t you think that might be a little extreme?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">How could Miguel, of all people, act like the stakes weren’t the highest they had ever been? “Extreme situations call for extreme measures,” Hawk replied, squaring his shoulders back as he repeated his Sensei’s words. He wasn’t soft. He was strong, only as aggressive as he needed to be in order to win.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Look, I don’t care what you say, Sensei Kreese’s style of karate sucks,” declared Miguel, throwing his hands up in exasperation. He looked in way over his head. “All this talk about finishing your enemies off, about going to war, it’s screwing with your head.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s fists curled so tight that his arms began shaking. Now he was pissed off. Where did Miguel get the nerve to come off like that? “No, Sensei Lawrence is screwing with <em>your</em> head.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel’s finger was back in his face again. “Sensei Lawrence is looking out for all of our best interests.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“You almost died because of him!” screamed Hawk. He was panting now, his shoulders rising and falling, seething with righteous indignation. How could Miguel stand there and continue defending Sensei Lawrence after everything that had happened? Had Sensei Lawrence told him to come here? Did he send Miguel here to fight his battle, treating him like some pawn? If so, Hawk hated him more than ever.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He wanted to grab Miguel and drag him into the dojo right that instant, so he could finally get Sensei Kreese to help him see that Sensei Lawrence was pulling the wool over his eyes, to see that he was being duped and being led on the wrong path.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The two Senseis didn’t even compare. Sensei Lawrence couldn’t even hold a candle to how dope Sensei Kreese was. Sensei Kreese was a war hero. Sensei Lawrence was a drunken loser. How could Hawk have ever thought his old Sensei used to be badass?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel’s expression morphed into a mixture of both anger and pain, making Hawk feel like he’d hit him below the belt. “That’s not fair,” Miguel muttered. He looked miserable right then, shoulders slumped, standing against the grey backdrop of the heavy rainstorm.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Seeing the effect his words were having, Hawk tried to calm himself. Maybe there had been too much venom in that particular bite. He didn’t mean to make Miguel feel bad, but he had no clue what else he could say to make him understand. “Just come back to Cobra Kai,” he pleaded, gesturing to the dojo with one hand, reaching out to grasp Miguel’s with the other. Even slack in his hand, Miguel’s fingers always felt warm. “The <em>real</em> Cobra Kai. Please.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel had that same look on his face now that he did before he’d kissed him in the park, which just confused Hawk all the more. What had that business been about then? Why couldn’t they just go back to that moment, when things seemed like they were going to be okay? Things made so much more sense in those few minutes when Miguel was leaning into him, pulling him closer to kiss him harder. How had they gotten from then to now? Could they go back?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">What if he made a move now? Would that make things better, or worse? If he leaned forward and brought their lips together again? Would he be able to express himself in a way Miguel could follow, to see why he was doing the things he was? Miguel had said he couldn’t handle any of that right now, but how else was Hawk supposed to explain things? Especially when it felt like his chest was going to crumble from the weight of it all inside him.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">And, when Miguel opened his mouth faintly, for a fleeting moment Hawk thought he might have read his mind. That he could see those thoughts, understand those feelings inside him he would have such a difficult time forming into words if Miguel asked him to explain how he felt about him. If he couldn’t comprehend his actions, could he at least comprehend his feelings?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“No,” Miguel said finally. Deep down, both of them knew what that would mean.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">So, this was really happening. It was going to come down to this, the line drawn in the sand.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk dropped Miguel’s hand and shuffled a couple of steps back on the pavement.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel was going to take Sensei Lawrence’s side in his move to retake Cobra Kai, and nothing Hawk could say was going to stop him. He couldn’t compete with whatever Miguel had with Sensei Lawrence. Was he going to become his enemy, too? But they were supposed to be on the same side of this war. They were both Cobra Kai, and Cobra Kai was supposed to be for life….</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Hawk, wait.” Closing the space between them again, Miguel reached his hands out, laying them on Hawk’s shoulders warmly. He had an imploring look on his face, with his big eyes and raised brows. He was concerned for him. Why couldn’t he see he should have been concerned for himself; that on the path he was currently on, he was just going to get hurt again? Because he always listened to Sensei Lawrence, no matter what…. “Dude, listen, why don’t we—”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Whatever Miguel was going to say, Hawk didn’t want to hear it. He narrowed his eyes and his scowl deepened, putting his own hands on Miguel’s shoulders and viciously shoving him away. Miguel grabbed a nearby post and caught his footing before he tripped backwards out into the pouring rain.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk thought with Miguel back in action, he wouldn’t feel as alone as he had been. Now he felt more isolated than ever. And he couldn’t take it anymore. He had to get out of there, right that second, or he was going to blow up.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">His head pounded in confusion. He was as lost as he had been the day after the school brawl. He needed guidance, and he knew where to run to find it. The only person who had been there consistently for him over the past few months, without fail.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He turned around and raced back the short distance to the dojo. He needed to warn Sensei Kreese about what Sensei Lawrence was planning. He would know what to do.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">When he grabbed the handle, he paused to give one more glance at Miguel. And he knew from that look, his friend was not going to follow him inside. Things could never go back to the way they were.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The bells jingled as he stormed inside, barely hearing Miguel call out his name as the door closed behind him. “Hawk….”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Splintered</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">The sun was moving past the trees in the park that December afternoon when Miguel checked the time on his phone. It had almost reached the hour he’d requested for the meetup. Slipping his cell back inside his pocket, Miguel shivered into his jacket as a strong breeze picked up. The bares trees would have rustled had there still been any leaves on them.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He wondered how much longer it would be before Hawk showed up….</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Biting his bottom lip, picking at the chapped skin with his teeth, Miguel began to wonder. Hawk had been completely closed off to him lately. He wasn’t even sure if he’d show up today at all. But hiding wasn’t Hawk’s style, he remembered. Hadn’t been for a long time. He’d be here.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel started pacing, kicking up loose rocks with his shoes. He worried about Hawk. His eagerness to fight had escalated past the point of reason. Sure, even back when Sensei Lawrence was in charge of things, Hawk was prone to letting his emotions get the better of him and making hot-headed decisions because of it. But now it really was like he saw himself as a soldier being sent out by his general.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">If Hawk did show up, would he be bringing a fight with him? Things between Sensei Lawrence and Sensei Kreese were at the boiling point. Did Hawk consider him his enemy now, too?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Maybe. But Miguel wasn’t scared of him. Worst case scenario, he knew he could take Hawk down in a fight. Was pretty sure, anyway. Yeah, he’d been out of it for a while, but with Sensei’s help, he felt much more like his old self. If push came to shove, he’d strike back hard. But he hoped he wouldn’t have to.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He looked up and, with no fanfare, there was Hawk, walking past the basketball court and up the trail to where Miguel said to meet him. They simply stood there for a moment, staring at one another like two cobras with their hoods raised, daring the other to make the first move.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Are we gonna fight here?” asked Hawk, fists flexed by his sides, sounding so fatalistic as he said it; like that was the inevitable outcome. His eyes were deep-set, and his mouth creased in a harsh frown. He looked more exhausted than Miguel could ever remember him being.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I’d rather talk, if it’s all the same to you,” answered Miguel, making a conscious effort to keep his own hands relaxed. Sensei Lawrence had been teaching them that there was a time to fight and a time to talk. This was one of the latter.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk shifted back and forth on his feet for a few awkward seconds before nodding. “Alright.” He followed Miguel as he led him over to sit on the park bench, the same one they’d shared that evening; what felt like forever ago.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel sighed and stared at where his hands rested in his lap for a minute, trying to piece together how he wanted this to go. Where did he even expect this conversation to go in the first place? He couldn’t say too much about what Sensei Lawrence was planning. Both because he didn’t fully understand it himself, and what he did know he couldn’t reveal, because Hawk would definitely go and snitch about it to Sensei Kreese. That was where they were at right now.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But still. Hawk was his friend. He should have been able to get into his head better than this, to at least try and see where he was coming from.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Before he could break the ice, Hawk bluntly declared, “If you’re trying to get me to betray Sensei Kreese, this isn’t gonna work.” Casting a hard glare at Miguel, he added, “And nothing I say is gonna convince you to come back to Cobra Kai, will it?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I <em>am</em> back at Cobra Kai,” Miguel stated with a defiant air, crossing his arms over his chest. He watched Hawk’s upper lip curl in distaste. But when he opened his mouth, undoubtedly about to start them down a path that would lead to a venomous argument, or worse, Miguel took control. “I’m just trying to understand why you’d turn on Sensei.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He didn’t bother specifying which one. He was allowed to be a little harsh. As far as he was concerned, there was only one true Sensei of Cobra Kai.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Sensei Lawrence turned on <em>us</em>,” retorted Hawk. When Miguel rolled his eyes, he went on, “Sensei Lawrence has been off the path ever since the All-Valley. Remember how he didn’t tell us Robby was his son, not even when he chewed our asses out in front of the class? And then punished us for drilling him about it? And when he kicked Sensei Kreese out, he decided to betray what Cobra Kai originally stood for.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">It seemed they were destined to have an argument regardless, but Miguel tried steering it around anyway. “Alright, let me rephrase my question. What’s so great about Sensei Kreese then, huh?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“He knows what it takes to win,” answered Hawk. “Since he’s taken over, things have really turned around for us. Now we’re always the last men standing in a fight. Plus, he just knows so much about, well, everything. You should hear some of his stories. He’s done so much cool shit.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel responded, “I remember his stories not really adding up.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk scowled. “So he’s a little old and maybe mixes some things up. So what? If we did half as many badass things as he’s done, we’d lose track of them, too.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Okay, but what about the way he teaches?” Miguel parried back. “Don’t you think maybe there’s a reason Tory and those other guys chose to come back?” He’d heard a lot of things from them, things that lined up with what Sensei Lawrence had to say about back in the day when he and the original Cobras used to be students under Sensei Kreese.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Because they’re quitters,” Hawk mumbled, his voice heavy with anger and accusation. “But I’m not.” He made a fist with one hand and pressed it into the palm of the other, digging his knuckles hard into it. The gesture reminded Miguel of Sensei Lawrence.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He couldn’t help but feel sorry for Hawk, even though he knew his friend wouldn’t appreciate his pity. He was sorry for what the fight between Sensei Lawrence and Sensei Kreese was doing to them both. They should have been at the mall or something, joking around, having a good time. Perhaps even figuring out whatever it was they had going on, to explore more of what had happened that evening in this park….</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel ran his hand through his hair. “What about his personal war against Mr. LaRusso and Miyagi-Do?” he asked, his voice dropping low. “This is going way beyond the beef Mr. LaRusso and Sensei Lawrence have. Do you really think going after them's gonna make things better?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“When the world shits on us, we gotta shit on it right back,” Hawk emphasized. “If you expect me to apologize for going after Keene, don’t hold your breath. I know Sensei Lawrence messed with your head, but I thought you would understand by now that you can’t show your opponents <em>any</em> mercy. Robby got what he deserved. If anything, I wish I could’ve kicked his ass even harder.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">That impulse to exact vengeance could be intoxicating. It wasn’t as though Miguel didn’t feel its pull himself. It wasn’t like he hadn’t imagined getting his own revenge on Robby, like he didn’t feel even a shred of envy when Hawk talked about bloodying his nose. He easily imagined how great that must have felt.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But then Sensei Lawrence’s advice echoed in his mind’s ear, telling him that even though what happened to him wasn’t fair, he still needed to be the honorable man. Whether or not he forgave Robby was up to him, but that was <em>his</em> choice to make. And in the meantime, he had to think of the bigger picture.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“You should've let me handle Robby,” he told Hawk, his tone carrying a bit of a rough edge to it.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk lowered his eyes and stared stolidly at his shoes. A long silence came over them until he opened his mouth faintly and said, “When Robby kicked you over the railing…When I-I saw you on the stairs, I thought….” His blue eyes narrowed as he trailed off, and his hands gripped the seat of the park bench so tight his knuckles went white.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel didn’t know why, until now, it hadn’t crossed his mind that Hawk had seen it happen. “Hawk….”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“We didn’t even know if you were gonna live, nobody would tell us anything!” exclaimed Hawk. “None of the adults understood, all they wanted was someone to blame, and they wanted to punish us. You know who did care, though? Sensei Kreese.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Did he?” asked Miguel, raising an eyebrow.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s eyes got more narrow, even as he continued staring at his shoes. “I know you think he’s just some hardass, but, dude, not even my parents got what it was like. But Sensei Kreese, he told me all this stuff about surviving a war, about these soldiers, his friends, he had to watch die right in front of him. And nobody here gave a shit when he came back. So he made Cobra Kai, to teach people to be badasses, to be winners and show no mercy, so they didn’t have to go through all that. So when I thought you were gonna die…. He understood what I was feeling. Nobody else did.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel believed Hawk was telling the truth. And a rush of sympathy swelled inside him, knowing for himself how it felt to be alone, where nobody else seemed to understand how upset and lost you were. He also knew how comforting it was to be reminded that someone <em>did</em> get you. When Sensei Lawrence came back to him, with the resolve to be his Sensei again, to start retraining him, it had brought more joy to Miguel than he’d experienced in months.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">If Hawk saw Sensei Kreese through that lens, well, Miguel could at least understand that.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But even with all that being true, Miguel couldn’t stop listening to his instincts, the gnawing in his stomach that told him Sensei Kreese was dangerous. At this point, he didn’t even know if that feeling was rational. But Sensei Lawrence didn’t trust him; he didn’t want Sensei Kreese around any of them. That was enough to convince Miguel.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">How in the world would he ever convince Hawk, though? Especially when most of his arguments rested on the foundation of, “Because Sensei Lawrence said so.” Hawk would throw that back in face. He’d say he was being Sensei Lawrence’s loyal lapdog.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk lifted his face. A faint hint of a smile spread across his mouth. It relieved Miguel to see it. “I was so glad to hear you were going to be okay. Well, you know what I mean. And all that time you were getting better, I couldn’t wait to see you back in Cobra Kai again. It was gonna be you and me, back on top, just like it used to be. And then after what happened here last time, I thought…I don’t know, man. I thought maybe you were hoping for the same thing.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">His voice was tight, like he was struggling with words he’d rather have suppressed. Something resembling guilt came over Hawk’s face. Did he feel guilty for exposing these feelings to him? For being too soft?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel froze, staring at Hawk with wide eyes. His heart pounded in his ribcage. “Hey, about that, about what happened here last time,” he mumbled, almost unaware his lips were moving. “You know….”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Yeah.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I know I said we shouldn’t have, but I don’t want to just forget about it.” Miguel slid his hand over and laid it on top of Hawk’s.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk perked a little. “Really?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">It was weird how, situated as they were in that park, Miguel could feel removed from the reality they actually lived in. Because for a moment, it didn’t matter that they were rivals in a splintered dojo, dragged apart by circumstances rooted in history between their Senseis dating back way before they were born. They shouldn’t have been fighting. They should have been trying to figure things out. Figuring <em>this</em> out.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Why shouldn’t he go ahead down this road? Why not dive in? He was strong enough to kick himself to the surface now. He was a Cobra again, and Cobras weren’t timid. Cobras didn’t slither away because life was difficult.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Do you want to try it, again?” he asked Hawk vaguely, licking his bottom lip to get his intentions across.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Right now?” asked Hawk, raising his eyebrows. He hesitated but couldn’t stop his smile from widening at the prospect being offered. It was like he, too, wanted to forget about this Cobra Kai schism for a minute and focus on this, on them. At Miguel’s offer, his soldier front dropped. He looked less tired. More hopeful. “Uh, yeah.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel leaned forward, and the two of them met for a kiss. It was tamer than the previous time, because a lot had happened since then. But after a first faint, closed-mouth press of their lips, Miguel could feel his blood pumping with invigoration. Dropping any remaining meekness, they kissed again, drawing out the intense sensation as hands laid on each other’s bodies.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Not wanting to run from it this time, Miguel chased the good feelings tingling through him. And as they drew out a faint moan deep from his chest, it made Miguel want to try and find a way to fix the problem they’d found themselves caught in the middle of, so they could concentrate on this instead.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">So when the kiss broke, Miguel opened his eyes, meeting Hawk’s, and murmured, “If you don’t trust Sensei Lawrence, do you at least trust me?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“What?” Hawk’s jaw slacked like something had dawned over him all of a sudden. His nostrils started flaring, breath picking up before a deep scowl soured his whole face. He yanked his hands back and jumped to his feet. “What the hell?! Was that your plan? Lower my guard and then come in for the attack?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel stood up, shaking his head. “What?! No, that’s not what I meant!” He hadn’t intended it that way in the slightest. But given the circumstances, he could see why this looked bad, why Hawk would think he was playing with his emotions. It made Miguel want to slap his forehead in frustration. Why did he act before thinking this through?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I thought you were Cobra Kai, but that’s such a pussy move. No wonder you won’t come back, you couldn’t handle Sensei Kreese’s style if you’re gonna be a little bitch like that. Why don’t you go and join the rest of the Miyagi-Nerds?” Hawk spat, making Miguel’s fists clench. “Did Sensei Lawrence put you up to this?” Now he just sounded paranoid.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Put me up to kissing you?,” asked Miguel, voice drenched with sarcasm, hoping the question sounded as ridiculous to Hawk’s ears as the accusation actually was. “Oh yeah, totally, that’s exactly what this was all about. You cracked our master plan, genius.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">That was probably the wrong thing to say, because suddenly Hawk’s hand reached out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt collar and his other reared back, looking like it was ready to form a fist.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel’s reflexes were lightning-quick. He grasped the wrist that gripped his shirt and twisted it, then shot out his other arm, knocking the heel of his palm square into Hawk’s jaw. The hit sent Hawk stumbling backward, but he caught his footing before he fell. Grazing his knuckles across his jaw, Hawk gave him a look of such intense wrath that Miguel was worried they were going to get into a full fight, right then and there.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">However, Hawk backed away, to Miguel’s surprise. Had it registered to him that Miguel really was back in the game now? Or, judging by the hurt in his eyes, was this a fight he did not want anymore than Miguel did?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“You’d better hope Sensei Lawrence gets back in line with Sensei Kreese, or else he can expect the war to come to him, too, just like Miyagi-Do!” threatened Hawk, his eyes wild and distressed, putting a hasty distance between him and Miguel. “We’re through talking after today! Get in my way and I’ll take you down!”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">With that last warning, he took off running. Miguel watched Hawk’s back as he raced up the trail, waiting to see if he’d ever stop and look behind him. He never did. And once Hawk was out of sight, Miguel raced over to where he’d locked his bike. With his stomach twisted in painful knots, he began pedaling home at breakneck speed.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">When he got back to Reseda Heights, he sat outside his apartment for a long time, sorting out his thoughts, trying to figure out what had went wrong.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He was so caught up in them that he didn’t even notice Sensei Lawrence’s car pull in until he got out and walked over to stand next to him. “Hey, Sensei,” Miguel muttered, eyeing the pack of beers in Sensei Lawrence’s hand, wondering from the look on his instructor’s face if he had come back from Mr. LaRusso’s. Of late, Sensei often had that expression bordering on annoyance and resentment whenever he returned from talking with Mr. LaRusso.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Diaz, what are you doing out here?” asked Sensei Lawrence. “You didn’t lock yourself out again, did you? Because the landlord’s gonna be pissed if I have to jimmy that door open.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“No, Sensei. I’ve just needed some time to think,” Miguel explained, crossing his arms over his knees. “I was talking with Hawk earlier."</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Sitting down next to him, Sensei Lawrence cracked open one of the Coors bottles from its pack. “Oh yeah? How’d that go?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Sensei Lawrence didn’t need to hear the full details of what happened, but Miguel knew he could have used his guidance right about now. He was at a loss about what else to do. All he did know was that Sensei Kreese was bad news, and he wanted Hawk to get away from him before something really bad happened. “I don’t think he’s ever going to give up on Sensei Kreese. He doesn’t see anything off about any of this, it’s like he’s totally bought into this made-up war Sensei Kreese wants to fight.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He saw the way Sensei Lawrence knitted his eyebrows together, how the corner of his mouth twitched. He looked almost guilty. But instead of offering any advice, he simply tilted his bottle back and downed a swig.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">So Miguel tried again. “Sensei, Mr. Kreese was your Sensei. You said yourself his methods were outdated, so that means you know this whole thing is crazy, right?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Sensei Lawrence’s eyes lingered down at the ground for a few seconds before he took another big chug of his beer. “Yeah.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Circle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">He heard the audible smack as his fist made contact with his opponent’s jaw, sending him falling to the ground with a groan. Hawk stood there, catching his breath for a second, raising his arm for another attack even as his adversary scrambled to sit up and shuffle backward on his hands and feet to get some distance between them. But the parked vehicle trapped him.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">There was Miguel now, sitting on the ground, his back against the car. Hawk’s eyes were drawn to the bit of blood trickling from his split lip; the same blood that was smeared on his knuckles right now.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The pounding in his ears blocked out the craziness around them in the big parking lot at the All-Valley Arena. He couldn’t hear whatever it was Sensei Lawrence or Mr. LaRusso were yelling as they ran over. He didn’t pay any attention to the other students, wherever they were at. He didn’t even hear Sensei Kreese’s order, even though he knew what he’d said anyway. Do it. Finish the fight. Miguel had chosen his side, he was the enemy, and the enemy didn’t deserve mercy.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But Miguel wasn’t supposed to be his enemy.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">His frazzled brain flashed. Miguel on those stairs. Unresponsive. Hawk’s chest hurt thinking about it. He wanted to remember something better. Their encounters at the park instead. Miguel giving him that look. Leaning forward. Kissing him….</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The memories made his fist uncurl and his arm slowly fall from its position of attack.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He’d done the things he’d done so none of them at Cobra Kai would ever be hurt again. He wasn’t supposed to be the one hurting Miguel himself. Sensei Kreese promised they’d never lose if they listened to him, but he’d also said Cobra Kai was a brotherhood. Miguel was his friend. He was something more, even. Or at least he could have been if things had turned out different.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">His delay gave Miguel enough time to scramble up on his feet. He raised his hands in a defensive position, but when their eyes met both of them knew the fight was finished. Neither had ever wanted this in the first place. Their rivalry was only supposed to be fun, one where they could have brought out the best fighter in each other.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">This, however?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk shook his head and staggered a couple of steps backward, right into Sensei Kreese. When he turned around, he saw the harsh disappointment in his Sensei’s narrowed eyes and grim frown. He didn’t need to hear the words spoken. Hawk knew by that look. He’d failed him. And by failing him, he’d lost the war for Cobra Kai. There was no way the night was going to go as Sensei Kreese planned if he wouldn’t continue fighting.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“So, what’s your big move this time?” came Sensei Lawrence’s voice as he and Mr. LaRusso caught up to them. Hawk watched Sensei Kreese’s icy glare sweep over to his rival for the future of the Cobra Kai dojo; he saw the way he sneered at his challenge. “Looks like you’re out of students, asshole. Who’s the loser now, huh?”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk felt like the weight of failure on his shoulders was going to crush him as he heard that taunt from Sensei Lawrence, and received the intense scowl of contempt from Sensei Kreese he was getting now. Failure was not an option. But Miguel meant too much to him to go through with it, even if it meant losing.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“We’ll see who’s the loser, Mr. Lawrence,” retorted Sensei Kreese. Hawk yelped as Sensei Kreese grabbed the back of his jacket collar and yanked him towards him. Before he knew what was happening, an arm snaked around his neck and clenched, hard. A cold terror flushed through Hawk in that instant as Sensei Kreese cut off his windpipe with his grip, and his hands flew up on reflex to try and pry the arm off of it.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Let go of him, Kreese!” demanded Sensei Lawrence.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk felt the arm squeezing his neck tighten more when Sensei Kreese declared, “One way or another, this war is ending tonight.” Hawk strained in to take a breath but to no avail. And when he tried to break out of the stranglehold, the King Cobra wrapped his other hand under his arm and locked him in, immobilizing him.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Sensei Lawrence raised his balled fists threateningly, taking a step forward. “Let him go, or I’ll end <em>you</em>.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Heh, that’s more like it, you pushy bastard,” chuckled Sensei Kreese, holding Hawk firm even as he continued to struggle, trying his best to get out of the old man’s grip.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Sensei Lawrence took another step, only for Mr. LaRusso to stay him with an extended hand. “This is crazy, Kreese,” he tried to reason. “The police are on their way. What do you think is going to happen?! Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in prison? Just let the boy go.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Another chilling laugh came out of Sensei Kreese, like the threat entertained him. “Always trying to live up to Miyagi’s horseshit, right to the end, huh, LaRusso? But you’ve never really believed any of that, have you, Johnny? You’re a winner, right? Come on. Just like I taught you, mercy is for the weak. If you want the kid, you know what you’ll have to do, don’t you? But you’d better hurry up and do it. I don’t think he has much time left for you to think it over.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s vision had blurred. He couldn’t make out Sensei Lawrence anymore. But in his place, as he felt his lungs burning for want of air, another memory surfaced to the forefront of his foggy mind. That day long ago in the Cobra Kai dojo. All of them sitting in a circle around the mats. Sensei Kreese had his arm around Sensei Lawrence’s neck.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>Two difficult choices. What do you do….?</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">His head was swimming. He couldn’t breathe. He was going to pass out.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em>You damn the consequences and power forward.</em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Come on, Johnny,” baited Sensei Kreese. “Do it. No mercy.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">With his last ounce of strength, giving it everything he had left, Hawk shot out his foot behind him, landing his heel squarely against Sensei Kreese’s kneecap. The old man let out a horrific, blood-curdling scream and the two of them crumbled to the ground instantly. Only then did Sensei Kreese released his hold on Hawk, rolling over him to grasp at his busted knee with both his hands with a groan and strong hiss of breath between his teeth.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Then Sensei Lawrence was there, prying Sensei Kreese’s weight off of Hawk, grabbing the old man’s coat lapels with one hand while he raised his other fist to strike. But Hawk didn’t wait around to watch what would happen. He scrambled to his feet and took off.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Hawk, wait!”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Was that Miguel’s voice? He couldn’t tell with blood still thundering in his ears, and he didn’t stop running to verify. He darted between the cars, putting distance between him and everyone else. He wasn’t supposed to run away from a fight but he couldn’t help it. This was too much.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He didn’t get very far before his senses overwhelmed him. His heart pounded in his chest so hard he thought it was going to burst in his ribcage. Sliding down against a van until he settled on the pavement, he gulped down lung-fulls of air over and over again, hyperventilating; worried if each breath might be his last, even now away from the immediate danger.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk didn’t know how long he sat there like that. Everything started to feel opaque, like it wasn’t real.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">He’d expected anger from Sensei Kreese. Punishment, too, because Sensei had made it perfectly clear in the past that was what happened to losers in his dojo. But this?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Recollections of the previous five months Hawk had spent training with Sensei Kreese hit him hard, all at once, particularly the time alone they’d had shared with one another. Every single instance Sensei Kreese had made him feel special, like he understood him on a level no other adult had. How he’d never treated him like a child. The advice he’d given him, all the stories he’d shared. The times he’d seemed to care. Had all of it been one big lie?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Like a balloon released of its air, Hawk deflated. He wanted to run home right then and tell his parents, hoping they would know what to do. So much for being a tough soldier. He felt more like a little kid than he had in over a year. But how would he ever explain any of this to them? What would they say?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Are you okay?” Hawk lifted his head. There was Miguel, staring at him. His eyes were as wide as saucers, his eyebrows practically touching his forehead. And to think Hawk had thought his friend should’ve been the one worrying about Sensei Lawrence hurting him….</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s eyes were drawn to Miguel’s bottom lip again. “You’re bleeding,” he murmured, his voice hoarse.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel raised his fingers to his lip, wiping the rest of the blood away that had trickled down his chin before sitting down next to him. And Hawk looked down at the knuckles on his right hand, seeing Miguel’s blood still there, too. He’d done that. He’d fought his best friend, he had dragged him into the war, he’d made him bleed, he’d hurt him, and for what? It had all been for nothing.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">His chin quivered as he stuttered out, “I-I’m sorry.” He had so much he wanted to pour out to Miguel right then, but his words left him. All he could manage was, “You tried telling me. I should’ve trusted you.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Dude, I knew Mr. Kreese was out there but I didn’t think he’d ever do something like that,” said Miguel, his voice shaky, running a trembling hand through his dark hair. He looked as shocked as Hawk felt, with his slack jaw and glazed-over brown eyes. How had it been for Miguel to watch and be able to do nothing, Hawk wondered? Had he felt as helpless as he did that day of the school fight, watching Robby kick him off that balcony? “Jesus, he…he really tried to….”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s hand ghosted over his neck. His mouth twisted in distress and he shrank into his shoulders, raising his other hand to grip the side of his head. It was hard for that to sink in, but it was true. Sensei Kreese had tried to kill him. He had meant nothing to his Sensei in all the time he’d spent with him. He was merely a pawn in his war games.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">And he’d fallen for it. Completely. For all his attempts to look out for Miguel, to try and keep Miguel from being duped, of accusing him of having his head messed with by a Sensei who didn’t care about him, he hadn’t seen that he was the one too stupid to realize he was being played with.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel turned his head at the sound of footsteps approaching, and someone appeared around the side of the van. It was Sensei Lawrence. “Diaz, give us a second,” he instructed, gesturing for Miguel to get up and move. Hawk narrowed his eyes. Not him.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Sensei Lawrence gave Miguel a quick, comforting pat on the back as he stepped away before he turned his attention on Hawk. For a long moment, he stared at him, saying nothing, his jaw clenched like he was struggling to swallow something hard down his throat. What was he going to do now? Yell at him? Accuse him of betraying him? Tell him he got what he deserved?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Hawk….” Sensei Lawrence knelt down and reached out a hand to lay on his shoulder.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“No!” He yelled, recoiling from the touch and shoving him back. “Get away from me!” He wanted to scream at Sensei Lawrence, to hit him over and over again until all of the rage was out of him. But he had no more fight left in him. It had been depleted. So he instead buried his face in his knees, clenching his eyes shut, willing it all to go away.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">However, Sensei Lawrence didn’t leave. He stayed where he was, kneeling there in front of him, letting out a sigh. “I know you’re pissed at me right now,” he said. “Have been for a while. And I’m not gonna sit here and tell you to get over it. Hell, I’d probably be pissed at me, too.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk lifted his head a little at that acknowledgment, cracking his eyes back open. Sensei Lawrence’s expression was stretched really tight, but Hawk saw the way he rubbed a hand all the way down his haggard face, noticing how his fingers grazed his neck delicately once he reached it; if nothing else, his concern seemed genuine.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I also think I have a pretty good idea about what you’re feeling, believe it or not. Because I was in your shoes once,” admitted Sensei Lawrence. “I don’t want you to deal with it alone, alright? I know it sucks to be alone. I want to help you. And listen, you don’t gotta give me an answer right now. Just know, I’m here for you.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk had no answer to give at the moment, which he supposed was better than a flat out refusal. He fought against his inclination to believe this was all another setup, that Sensei Lawrence was manipulating him, just as he believed he had manipulated Miguel during his recuperation. None of that made sense anymore, though. Sensei Lawrence had tried to rescue him from Sensei Kreese. And he’d never made an offer like this before, ever, even when he was his Sensei.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“I remembered what you taught us,” Hawk mumbled. It was strange. Hawk thought in a battle for survival, in the heat of moment, it would be Sensei Kreese’s ruthless advice that would keep him safe. But it had been Sensei Lawrence’s words that came to his mind back there. It was Sensei Lawrence’s lesson that had saved him from being choked to death.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">A small smile came over Sensei Lawrence’s face. “Yeah, I saw.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“A Cobra slithers, right?” Miguel had returned, standing there with his hands in his jacket pockets.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk’s mouth twitched. Could he even call himself a Cobra anymore after tonight?</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Casting a glance over to where the fight had taken place, crowded as it was by not only the other dojos but also dozens of bystanders, Miguel rubbed the back of his neck and asked, “About Mr. Kreese, um, Sensei, is he…?” He let the question linger, sounding to Hawk’s ears like he was almost afraid what the response would be. Hawk had to admit, he might have been, too.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Nah,” answered Sensei Lawrence, shaking his head. “It’s what he would have wanted. He knew he’d lost, and this was just his last attempt at a win. But Hawk here threw a wrench in that plan, didn’t you? Along with a busted kneecap.” He said it in as much a light-hearted way as he could muster, like he expected a chuckle out of them for saying it.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">But when Hawk looked at Sensei Lawrence and saw the seriousness etched deep on his face, he wondered if his former Sensei would have taken Sensei Kreese’s bait and killed the old man in order to save him. Sensei Lawrence stared back, and at that moment Hawk figured he had his answer.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“What’s gonna happen now?” asked Hawk.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Sensei Lawrence rubbed his hands together, answering, “Well, first I’m probably gonna have to answer some questions when the cops get here, which should be pretty be soon. They’re likely gonna ask you guys about the stuff that happened tonight, too. But I’ll try and explain it to your folks. Best I can, anyways.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Johnny.” All three of them turned their heads to Mr. LaRusso, who’d made his way over to the van and found them. After giving Miguel and Hawk a quick look, he signaled for Sensei Lawrence to follow him. “We, uh, should talk about a couple things.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Sensei Lawrence nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed, standing up. “Stay here, both of you.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">When Sensei Lawrence walked off with Mr. LaRusso, Miguel came to stand next to Hawk, leaning against the van. At this point, they could both hear the sirens in the distance. It was an absolute mess of a night, one that didn’t look like it was going to end soon enough for either of their tastes. So Hawk could feel the exhaustion coming off Miguel as his friend sighed. “Remember when I asked you if you ever missed the old days?” he asked.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Fidgeting with his hands on his knees, Hawk replied, “Yeah.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel raised his eyebrows and said, “Y’know what? I <em>really</em> miss them now.”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Hawk couldn’t help but snort at that, even if it caught in his throat and sounded almost like a sob as it came out of his mouth. “Yeah. Me, too.” Maybe it was selfish now to admit that. Still, just then, the thought of Sensei Kreese’s war finally ending, the idea of karate going back to being primarily a sport, that sounded so wonderful.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">A little grin spread over Miguel’s face, and he extended his hand down to Hawk. He accepted the gesture, letting Miguel help pull him up to his feet. And when he tried taking his hand back, Miguel grasped it in both of his. He had that look on his face again.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“Miguel….”</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">“When everything blows over, how about coming back to Cobra Kai?” Miguel asked.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">The invitation was so absurd, Hawk almost wanted to laugh. Maybe taking Sensei Lawrence up on his offer wouldn’t be so bad. And he had a lot he wanted to make up to Miguel for. “What about you and me?” he asked.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Miguel squeezed his hand again. “We’ll figure it out.”</p>
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